Right now, only medical marijuana card-holders can buy cannabis in any shape or form. As of 2018, basically, Recreational Marijuana will follow the existing Medical Marijuana Dispensary template with certain nuances. However, behind the scenes we predict that its going to be a titanic mess of crossed wires, litigation, and bureaucratic red tape. Sorry. This is the assessment.

CIVIL AND CRIMINAL NIGHTMARE

"What law enforcement plan right across the Western World, including California, is to perform a massive amount of roadside checks, to check if driver's are impaired for marijuana. This will result in a massive burden on the legal system, top to bottom. Tens of thousands of Californians will again be criminally prosecuted for smoking marijuana"

Rec marijuana will probably be lower quality than medical. At the end of the day, recreational legalization may be a really bad thing for consumers. The prices will go up, and the regulatory process in agriculture has no track record of success, when it comes to producing healthy and safe foodstuff.

"The problem with roadside Cannabis DUI checks, is two fold. Marijuana and THC stays in the system for weeks, so a toke yesterday can put you over today. A large Federal study on the dangers of marijuana and driving showed that there is no statistical difference between driving with or without smoking."

A 2002 review of seven separate studies involving 7,934 drivers reported, Crash culpability studies have failed to demonstrate that drivers with cannabinoids in the blood are significantly more likely than drug-free drivers to be culpable in road crashes.

Back in the day, some one hundred years ago, marijuana was dispensed freely in the United States under a very simple and effective system. Marijuana grow wild across the country and special potions were prescribed by the family doctor and sold in the local pharmacy.

"It's nearly inevitabile California will be sued by a myriad of organizations that object to its myriad of proposed cannabis regulations and processes."

Fast forward to today, where California's seemingly simple declaration to make marijuana legal, has resulted in volumes of rules and regulations, which involve dozens of government departments.

"Marijuana laws, under the guise of legalizations will still be bent to interfere with small business, promote litigation and incarcerate and harass marijuana smokers through new anti-drug laws, like the DUI.

However, and to the contrary, it appears that there are forces in California that understand these dangers and are fighting the Fed War on Drug Policies, which are that of the UN, which are that of the unelected elites that make a mockery of the democratic process.

“AB 1578 is intended to prevent federal government overreach in the Trump era. While we cannot fully control what the Trump administration does, we can prevent the misuse of California’s public dollars and resources for (U.S. Attorney General) Jeff Sessions’ misguided war on marijuana.” - Lynne Lyman of the Drug Policy Alliance

OVER REGULATION HURTS EVERYBODY EXCEPT BIG CORP AND THE LAWYERS

The massive undertaking is underway, as California races to put in place the regulations for recreational and medical marijuana. In November, 2016 the California's Adult Use of Marijuana Act passes. A 14-month gap allowed businesses and regulators time to set up and begin recreational marijuana sales. This means, that effective, recreational marijuana is not available until Jan 1, 2018. While the State's plans seemed reasonable, the whole industry is scrambling under the weight of red tape and bureaucracy.

California lawmakers, their lobbyists and their teams of mercenary lawyers have made the business of marijuana difficult and expensive. Such is the paradigm, where controls need to be in place on anything and everything, with low quality products and services being the oxymoron net result.

FEDS - NO TIME TO LOOK AT MEDICAL MARIJUANA - PLENTY OF TIME FOR BOMBING THE DESERT

"In order to start issuing licenses on Jan. 1 or Jan. 2, we need people in place and we need them to be up to speed, From everything we've seen and heard, there's an amazing amount of interest. We expect to be busy on that Jan. 2 date." - Alex Traverso, California's Bureau of MediCalCannabis Regulation (BMCR)

The BMCR is but one of several offices and state agencies tasked with marijuana regulation. According to a statement from the state:

The Bureau of MediCalCannabis Regulation is housed within the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

CalCannabis is housed within the California Department of Food and Agriculture; licensing marijuana cultivators, under a system to track cannabis from farm to dispensary, and evaluate the marijuana industry's environmental impact.

The Office of MediCalCannabis Regulation is housed within the Department of Public Health, which licenses companies that manufacture cannabis based products including edibles.

The BMCR or the Bureau of MediCalCannabis Regulation was created by the MediCalCannabis Regulation and Safety Act under Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015. Although medical marijuana has been legal for medical in California since 1996, there was no state body licensing or regulating dispensaries until the 2015 law created BMCR.

This newly created agency is tasked with establishing a framework for licensing and regulations for commercial cultivation, manufacturing, transportation, distribution and sale of medical marijuana in California. If dispensaries get both state and local licenses, they could operate as for-profit businesses and not just non-profit collectives.

"It's a massive undertaking, with the number of licenses available, the number of agencies that have to be involved, they're going to spend a ton of time on this. These rules are going to change time and time and time again. They're fluid." - Hilary Bricken, Attorney in Cannabis Law

BMCR staff planned to have a draft of proposed medical marijuana regulations ready for a 45-day public comment period in April. Next up, the agency will begin drawing up regulations for rec marijuana.

Though Traverso said they'll likely look very similar to those for medical marijuana - for example, the licensing process will be almost identical, including rules about background checks for sellers and testers - the laws make some key distinctions. For example, Bricken said, the legislation that regulated medical marijuana says that different companies must grow, manufacture and distribute mediCalCannabis, while Proposition 64 allows companies to participate in several parts of the production process.

There probably won't be time for another 45-day public comment period on recreational marijuana regulations, Traverso said. So the state may use emergency authority to enact regulations before Jan. 1, then get public feedback and adjust the rules. Marijuana businesses can't get bank accounts, so many pay taxes in cash

License applications will almost certainly be available online, at least for those parts of the industry his agency regulates - dispensaries, distributors and testing labs.

California's Department of Food and Agriculture will handle licenses for cultivators, and its Department of Public Health will regulate manufacturers of edible marijuana.

BMCR, now a 15-person agency, plans to hire 50 to 75 people after its new fiscal year starts July 1. Traverso said funding for the expansion will come from the governor's budget.

The Department of Food and Agriculture has created CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing, an agency within the department, to license cultivators. And the Department of Public Health's Office of Manufactured Cannabis Safety is responsible for issuing licenses to manufacture marijuana products like edibles.

The state's medical marijuana legislation,enacted in 2015, created CalCannabis, now a 22-person office, to create a licensing program for medical marijuana cultivation, implement a system that tracks cannabis from farm to dispensary, and measure marijuana's environmental impacts, according to Steve Lyle. director of public affairs at the Department of Food and Agriculture.

The agency plans to release draft regulations in "spring 2017," Lyle wrote in an email. As for whether CalCannabis will be ready to issue licenses on Jan. 1, 2018, Lyle simply wrote, "Yes."

The Office of Manufactured Cannabis Safety, housed within the Department of Public Health, has not yet responded to questions about the size of their office, what aspects of marijuana manufacturing they are required to regulate or whether they expect to issue licenses beginning on Jan. 1.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE STYLE - CANNABIS, SYRIA, ETC.

The BMCR plans to have applications available before January, so they can review them in advance of issuing the first licenses Jan. 2, Traverso said. In the meantime, he recommended that people who want to start marijuana-related businesses obtain licenses from their city or county, which they'll need to apply for state licenses.

"They're super ambitious. I like what Ajax is saying, hustling to put together a draft, they're saying all the right, reasonable things and exercising, I think, genuine rhetoric about wanting to get this done correctly, However, I do not think licenses will issue in January 2018, for a multitude of reasons." - Bricken

Bricken pointed to the amount of harmonization required between Prop 64 and existing medical marijuana laws, as well as the near-inevitability that California will be sued by organizations objecting to its proposed regulations or processes. A more attainable deadline, in her mind, is summer or fall of 2018. Trevaso described the timeline as a "challenge," but said the office was committed to meeting it and, in fact, was legally obligated to do so by Prop 64.

As for the Trump administration's anti-marijuana rhetoric, which is a departure from the Obama administration's views on cannabis - Traverso said they've hardly had time to think about it. (They have plenty of time to think about bombing a foreign country but not help millions of medical marijuana patients) While U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has voiced opposition to both recreational and medical use of cannabis, he has not implemented policy changes yet.

"Maybe that's the beauty of having the timeline that we have - we haven't really put too much stock in the words, it's been more, 'hey, let's wait and see if there's a plan and see what happens at that point. For now, we're continuing to do our work and work hard to get regulations in place, and if something comes down from the federal government, we'll respond accordingly." - Traverso

At the end of the day, there could be a very simple rule set that focuses on taxation and quality testing of the product, and leave the rest to the marketplace to sort out. That would be the American way, which is 180 degrees away from current practices, which are the same practices of a North Korea, a Venezuela, an East Germany. More control and more laws never lead to ongoing prosperity anywhere. However commonsense, heart and freedom does. That's the life blood. No blood, no life.

420EVALUATIONSONLINE: In 2018, you're going to want to have a medical doctor's recommendation for medical marijuana to treat your conditions and symptoms; because the quality of the marijuana is likely to be higher than at a recreational dispensary and there will be no State tax, which is expected to be about 15%. That means a savings of hundreds of dollars for a medium use medical portfolio. Our online process takes only a few minutes and clients don't pay unless they are approved - usually same day. Your E-rec is emailed with a hard copy following in a non-marijuana marked envelop. We also supply Cannabis ID, Grow Permits and Renewals. Documents are used in both California and Nevada at licensed suppliers of cannabis based medicines.

Marijuana impairment does not appear to play a significant role in on-road traffic accidents. A 2002 review of seven separate studies involving 7,934 drivers reported, “Crash culpability studies have failed to demonstrate that drivers with cannabinoids in the blood are significantly more likely than drug-free drivers to be culpable in road crashes.”

It is well established that alcohol over consumption increases accident risk. Evidence of marijuana’s culpability in on-road driving accidents is much less convincing. (Infact, there is no correlation).

Cannabis intoxication mildly impair psychomotor skills, but does not appear to be severe or long lasting. In driving simulation tests, this impairment is typically manifested by subjects DECREASING their driving speed and requiring greater time to respond to emergency situations.

California Prop 64, the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative, on the November 8, 2016, ballot initiated a state statute. The initiative, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act was approved. A "yes" vote supported legalizing recreational marijuana under state law and established certain sales and cultivation tax.

Most recently, California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada all passed measures in November legalizing recreational marijuana. California’s Prop. 64 measure allowed adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of cannabis and grow up to 6 plants at home. Other tax and licensing provisions will not take effect until Jan 2018.

California is considering another step to protect its marijuana interests from Washington meddling.

The proposal - the first of its kind in the nation - would prevent both state and local police from assisting federal agents crack down on marijuana activity that California has deemed to be legal. Despite objections from some law enforcement, it cleared the Assembly Public Safety Committee Tuesday by a 5-2 vote.

“AB 1578 is intended to prevent federal government overreach in the Trump era. While we cannot fully control what the Trump administration does, we can prevent the misuse of California’s public dollars and resources for (U.S. Attorney General) Jeff Sessions’ misguided war on marijuana.” - Lynne Lyman of the Drug Policy Alliance

The bill, carried by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, would prevent California police from using state resources to “investigate, detain, detect, report, or arrest a person for marijuana activity that is authorized by law in the State of California,”

With passage of the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA”) in 2015, California took a huge step towards comprehensively regulating its medical cannabis industry after more than 20 years of little to no such state government oversight action under Proposition 215. Under the MCRSA, California medical cannabis businesses can expect a bevy of regulations spanning packaging and labeling requirements, mandatory quality assurance testing, advertising, seed to sale tracking, environmental impact restrictions, plant canopy and potency limitations, and financing and ownership restrictions. The same level of regulation and government oversight can also be expected under the Control, Regulate, and Tax Adult Use of Cannabis Act (“AUMA”), California’s legalization of recreational marijuana initiative that passed in 2016.